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Boehringer Ingelheim locks up a promising OTC nasal spray technology to prevent the common cold --- just what Zicam [Matrixx] needed.  Unfortunately the product roll out appears to be entirely outside the US.

On June 28 Boehringer-Ingelheim announced a licensing deal with Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH for its anti-viral nasal spray marketed in Austria as Coldamaris™.  BI will market this product as "pharmacy-only" under the Mucosolvan™ brand acroos Europe, Russia, South America and parts of Asia.  The deal structure appears a straightforward upfront and milestone-based development agreement.

The technology active is a form of carrageenin, a natural sulphated polysaccharide extracted from seaweed.  This viscous material creates a demulcent barrier over the nasal mucosa.  Additionally Marinomed has published evidence that it interferes with colds virus attachment and replication when tested in vitro on human nasal muscosa.  A clinical trials done in at Ron Eccles', Common Colds Centre at Cardiff supports efficacy.  Product labeling recommends dosing three times a day.  Patent protection is said to expire in 2026.  Safety is claimed to be established and a trademark filed in 2007 on the ingredient [Carragelose™].

The regulatory basis of this technology in venues outside the US is as a Class IIa medical device in the EU making registration rather straightfoward.  This path to market may not be available in the US if disease prevention or treatment claims are made.  If true, a dossier would need to be assembled to support an NDA filing.

The hunt for a benign way to prevent and treat the common cold is an old one.  Various zinc-containing products, like Zicam, vitamin C, and other natural ingredients have been tried with mixed results.  Will seaweed be the answer?

Donald K. Riker, Ph.D.
Dr. Riker, President & Founder, On Point Advisors, LLC, was the last Vice President of R&D/QA & Chief Scientific Officer at Chattem. He completed his post-doctoral training in pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine consucting research in neuroscience. As a former Associate Director, Procter & Gamble, he managed over 150 clinical trials on OTC products many focused on the common cold, cough, nasal congestion, sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis

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